As one of the nation’s leading specialty produce growers, marketers and shippers of high-quality produce, Southern Specialties, headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, knows well how chefs interpret “gourmet” in their menu creations.

Celebrating 25 years in business this year, the company’s wide line of specialty and gourmet produce, and its popular “Southern Selects’” brand, are recognized in all segments of the industry. Professionals at retail chains and gourmet independent retailers, wholesalers, foodservice operators and consumers alike know that the name stands for quality, specialty and gourmet produce.Southern Specialties’ Parmesan asparagus is a true gourmet treat.

Charlie Eagle, vice president of business development for Southern Specialties, explained to The Produce News how gourmet is interpreted by chefs today.

“Essentially, we’ve entered an era where chefs are taking products and blast freezing them, anointing them with smoky branches or infusing them with imaginative flavors,” said Eagle. “Southern Specialties provides the products that become the launching pads for chefs’ imaginations.”

For example, Southern Specialties provides a baseline for creation with items like green asparagus, and then affords chefs an opportunity to build upon that item with white and purple asparagus.

“After all these years we still find that chefs prize our hand-peeled baby carrots and hand-peeled rainbow carrots for providing excitement on the plate,” added Eagle. “And they’re often accompanied with an assortment of baby squashes. Imagine the appetizing appeal of such a beautifully colored plate.”

Gourmet specialty items, he noted, also stand out with color and flavor when used in the most simple presentations.

“Products like ‘Southern Selects’ heirloom tomatoes are sensational simply sliced and served with fresh burrata cheese, a drizzle of balsamic and fresh basil,” said Eagle. “You can call that gourmet or everyday fare, but either way it’s difficult to beat. The impact that a combination of bright colors and flavors on a plate creates is a guarantee of pleasure to those whom it’s served.”

“Southern Selects” slender, tender, stringless and flavorful French beans provide the perfect solution for creativity in the green bean category. Try them lightly dusted with flour and fried, and served with a dipping sauce. Try “Southern Selects” asparagus the same way. It doesn’t get much more gourmet than this.

Tropical fruits also rank high on the gourmet list at Southern Specialties, and chefs are increasingly turning to these products. Tropicals are used in all food categories, including beverages today. And the demand grows continually because they provide the taste of summer to consumers every month of the year.

“Our tropical fruits; mangos, papayas, including golden papayas, avocados and limes all yield the flavors of the tropics,” noted Eagle. “And they add the colors of both a tropical sunrise and sunset.

“After all is said and done, and at the end of the day, it’s the imagination of chefs that put ‘gourmet’ into the products that Southern Specialties provides,” he added.